The Worst Day in Eustace Clarence Scrubb's life
by Pendragon2601
Summary: Jill is in love with someone and it is not Eustace. Being a true friend he gets them both together on a date but Eustace then wonders whether he is happy that Jill is going out with someone else. Please read author's note.


_**Hello, this is a one shot that I had just thought of today since I was bored and I had nothing to do.**_

_**This idea just came to me and I decided to write it and upload it to see what you think. I must say that I liked it and it is much better than my other one-shot Saving Me. (A lot better) I think that this is kinda fluffy, (although I'm not entirely sure what is meant by "fluffy") and I think I kinda ended it badly but I want to know what you think.  
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_**Please read and tell me what you think of it, I love opinions.  
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_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia or Eustace and Jill, although I really wished I did. I would be so proud.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**PS. Both Eustace and Jill are sixteen in this fanfiction. I wasn't entirely sure how hold they both were in the books so this is a rough guess.  
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**The Worst Day in Eustace Clarence Scrubb's Life.**

Friday 15th September 1945

Eustace Scrubb would always remember this day as the worst day in his short life. Well, apart from being turned in to a dragon but that's beside the point. It had all started out as a normal day, sun in the sky and all that and he and Jill Pole, his best friend in the whole of their school Experiment House, were sat outside behind the old gym sharing a bag of peppermints.

"Scrubb, do you think that Montgomery likes me?" Jill asked suddenly as she fished in the bag for another peppermint. Eustace almost choked on a peppermint in his mouth and turned to his friend in surprise.

"What would you mean by like?" he asked in a calm voice, covering up his surprise. Jill turned back to him with a frown.

"Well, you know. Do you think he likes me more than a friend?" she said with a small smile appearing on her voice. Eustace started to panic inside. What if Jill liked Montgomery back? Would she still be friends with him? Or would she totally forget about him and never talk to him ever again and then forget about Narnia and everything that they did?

"Scrubb...? Scrubb!" Jill called suddenly waving her hand in front of Eustace's face, giggling slightly at Eustace's blank expression. Eustace shook himself and his hand dived for another peppermint.

"Well, do _you_ think he likes you?" he said concentrating in the little white sweet in between his fingers.

"Well, I don't know. That's why I was asking you!" Jill huffed, annoyed at her friend's lack of attention. "I mean you do speak to him after all. Does he talk about me at all?"

Eustace paused thinking back to the last time he spoke to Montgomery. It was in the common room and they were talking about the maths homework they had received that morning. Come to think of it, Montgomery did ask about Jill a lot.

"I don't know. A little bit I suppose." He lied, popping the sweet in his mouth. Jill face lit up and she leaned in closer to Eustace. He suddenly felt his face warm up a little with being so close to Jill.

"Really? What did he say?" she asked excitedly, smiling widely and tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Uh...I-I don't know. Wasn't listening." He mumbled as he heard Jill let out a sigh and moved away from him, pulled her knees up to her chin and rested her head on her knees, looking away from him. Eustace frowned. He knew that position.

"Hey, what's wrong Pole?" he asked leaning over to look at Jill. She sniffled. She was going to start crying again. Eustace wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to his chest. "Come on Pole, you can tell me."

Jill took a deep shuddering breath and looked at Eustace through her teary eyes. She had known Eustace for a very long time, she went to a magical land with him and rescued a prince from an evil witch, faced off _Them_ after they came back from the magical land and had become her best friend. They told each other everything from secret fears to their favourite dessert. They had even met each other's family and gone over each other's house for tea. Surely they would remain friends no matter what, right?

"I really like him Scrubb, but it's like he never notices me." She said in a hushed voice as she hugged Eustace. Eustace felt as if someone had just shot him point blank with a pistol. Jill liked someone else. Eustace thought that he should be happy for Jill. She had found someone who could potentially be her sweetheart but deep down inside he was upset that it wasn't him. Not that he liked her like that or anything... it's just he cared about Jill so much; he didn't want her to get hurt.

"I'll talk to him if you want." He suggested quietly, rubbing Jill's arm soothingly so that she would calm down.

"Oh Scrubb, you'd do that for me?" gasped Jill sitting up and turning to Eustace with wide eyes. Eustace nodded and gave her a small smile. "Oh Scrubb! Thank you so much, you're the best friend ever!"

She wrapped her arms around Eustace's neck and gave him a tight hug. Eustace hesitated before hugging back, burying his face in her hair. Eustace would've liked to stay like this forever just hugging his friend but Jill pulled away and smiled at him. They didn't speak about that after that for the rest of the day and went inside as it started pouring down with rain.

Later that night, Eustace was sat with Montgomery finishing off some homework in the corner by the windows. He was just sketching a picture of Britain with the occasional glance at Montgomery, just checking if he was struggling on his work.

"Hey Scrubb?" asked Montgomery suddenly, nudging Eustace in the shoulder. Eustace looked up from his map and stared at Montgomery with a questioning look. Montgomery was, according to the girl's in Jill's dorm, handsome, sensitive and shy. He had dirty blonde hair, bright green eyes and wore rectangle glasses that usually perched on a crooked nose that had been broken by many encounters from _Them _after rescuing countless victims.

"Yeah Montgomery? Are you stuck on your work?" he asked, noticing an excited glance from Jill in the corner of the room.

"How's Pole nowadays?" He asked innocently, looking back at his work as his cheeks started to redden.

"Oh well, you know she's well...Pole." he said awkwardly searching in his pockets for a peppermint. Jill was certainly not just "Pole". She was the most brave, determined, amazing girl Eustace had ever met and she was the best friend he ever had.

"Do you know if she is doing anything tomorrow?" Montgomery asked trying to play it cool. Eustace sighed and put down his pencil, locking his fingers in front of him.

"Look Montgomery, Pole really likes you." He said quietly, unable to look at Montgomery and preferred to stare at the table in front of them.

"R-Really?" he gasped and stared back at Eustace, a smile forming on his lips.

"Yeah...if you want to go out with Pole then she's free at eleven o'clock. Just...don't hurt her." Eustace mumbled to him, feeling as if his whole world had just crashed down on his shoulders. He stood up and mumbled a goodnight to him before going up to his dorm and lying on his bed, on top of his covers.

The next morning, Eustace woke up and decided to write a letter to his cousins.

_Dear Cousins,_

_I have a little problem and I don't know what to do about it. Pole likes someone else and they like her too, but I don't want to lose her as a friend. What should I do? Should I tell her I don't want to lose her and her be upset and lonely, or should I let her be happy but lose her as a friend?_

_I know you've all been through something like this and I know you can help me. Please write back soon._

_Your cousin,_

_Eustace._

He sent it off later that day and went to sit behind the old gym on his own. He didn't want to see Jill today he just wanted to be alone and in his own thoughts. Why did he not want to see Jill? She was his best friend, he went to Narnia with her and she was probably the only person he can stand to be around for a long period of time. He sighed and pulled his knees up to his chin. This was confusing him to no end. Why should he care if Jill went on a date with another boy? (And don't think he didn't know it was a date, he had seen it _way_ too many times happen to his cousin Susan) He should be happy for her. It's what best friends do for each other.

He looked at his watch for the time. Half past twelve in the afternoon. Jill would already be on her date with Montgomery. Eustace grumbled and put his head on his knees. No doubt Jill would enjoy his company. She was always very friendly with Eustace so why would that change for everyone else? Montgomery was handsome and no doubt brave – two things that Eustace was definitely not. And to make it worse Montgomery was courteous! He had asked _Eustace_ if it was alright to go out with Jill (although he was still trying to figure out _why_). He was the perfect Knight-in-shining-armour. Jill would fall in love with him, become his sweetheart, marry him, have a family and die happily with him. Eustace wondered if she would turn in to another Susan and shuddered at the thought. Jill would never forget Narnia and go to parties' non-stop, bringing a different boyfriend home every week.

Two hours later, Jill came back to find Eustace sat behind the old gym with his forehead on his knees. Jill frowned and then sat beside him.

"Scrubb, what are you doing here?" she asked concerned about her friend. He never sat on his own by the gym. That was usually Jill. Eustace grumbled something incoherent and didn't look up at her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Eustace glanced up at her and then raised his eyebrows. Jill looked like a lady. Her usually short straight blonde hair was curled, with her bangs pinned back by hair grips and she was wearing a red beret that Tate had bought her for her fifteenth birthday. She was wearing a little bit of make-up that made her usually dull blue eyes bright and her pale skin glow. Eustace glanced down at her clothes and saw she was wearing a red pinafore dress on top of a white blouse, but that wasn't what caught his attention. What did catch his attention was the silver charm bracelet with a small lion on it that he had bought her for her sixteenth. Eustace felt a little bit of pride bubble up inside of him. _She wore it! And it was to a date with Montgomery too! _He thought to himself as Jill stared at him.

"What? Have I got something on my face?" she asked worriedly, going cross-eyed trying to look at her nose. Eustace chuckled and shook his head.

"No, you look...pretty." he commented felling his cheeks warm up. Jill rolled her eyes.

"No I don't, you're just saying that." She mumbled in embarrassment. Eustace stared at her in astonishment.

"No I'm not! You really do look pretty..." Eustace exclaimed then paused, just realising what he had just said. They looked away from each other in embarrassment, their cheeks burning bright red. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Eustace turned back to Jill.

"So...how was your date?" he asked politely even though part of him didn't want to know. Jill turned back to him and smiled. _Oh no..._Eustace thought as he struggled to keep his face looking happy.

"It was nice..." she said slowly leaning back against the brick wall of the old gym. Eustace followed her, anxious to know what happened.

"And...?" he asked staring at her with worried eyes. Was this really happening? Was Jill in love with Montgomery?

Jill sighed and leaned against Eustace wrapping his arms around her and turning to face him. "To be honest, he wasn't that interesting to talk to. In fact he didn't even talk. He was too nervous." Eustace let out a sigh of relief that Jill didn't notice.

"Oh well Pole, there's always next time." He said sympathetically. Jill shuddered at what he said.

"Oh, I don't think so. I don't think I'm ready for a relationship yet." She said as she played with Eustace's fingers. Eustace looked away sadly. "I feel more comfortable with you. I can just be myself."

Eustace perked up a bit at that. _I suppose that's something to be happy about._ He thought as he watched Jill play with his fingers, occasionally poking Jill on her nose and making her laugh. A few days later a letter arrived for Eustace from his cousins, the Pevensies.

_Dear Eustace,_

_What is this about you losing young Jill as a friend? The whole world would end if that had happened so don't worry, you are not going to lose Jill as a friend not matter who she might go out with. You two are practically joined at the hip from what Aunt Alberta says. Don't worry; she didn't embarrass you in front of us she was just visiting one weekend. She wanted to know what Mum wanted for her birthday present. Lucy and Peter both say that you should tell Jill how you feel about her going out with someone else. It would not do for you to be unhappy without Jill. Just tell her how you feel and you will do fine. Susan also says that she finds it cute and about time that you have found your sweetheart (although I don't know how she can say that when she hasn't even found hers yet). _

_As for that problem of yours, I'd strongly advise that you go and see a doctor about it and stay away from other people in case it is contagious. _

_I'm joking._

_Your cousin,_

_Edmund_

_Ps, Will you and Jill be able to come along to the next Narnian meeting at Professor Kirke's house? Please write back soon and tell us if you can so Aunt Polly knows how many buns to bake._

Eustace laughed and rolled his eyes at Edmund's comment. Jill looked at him curiously from beside him then handed him a peppermint.

"How are they? What did they say?" she asked.

"Oh they're alright, just talking about Susan." He lied quickly before stuffing the letter in to his pocket. Jill shrugged and turned her attention back to the bag of peppermints. Eustace stared at his friend and smiled to himself. He and Jill, for some reason had become closer friends over the past few days. It was like they had gone over an obstacle together and had got out of it.

Maybe Friday 15th September 1945 wasn't the worst day in Eustace's short life after all.


End file.
